OBJECTS

The objects of the Club shall be to :-

• promote and further interest in Bristol cars and other makes equipped with Bristol engines.

• maintain and circulate a Membership List as a basis for mutual contact, which shall be circulated annually free to all members.

• exchange technical knowledge, data and experience, including maintaining a register of Bristol cars. Such information to be available to all classes of membership.

• establish a library of handbooks, spares manuals, road tests and catalogues etc., copies of which can be purchased, when available, only by members.

• hold social meetings and other events to which other Clubs may be invited.

• circulate through the media of the Club Bulletins and Newsletters, news of owners, new members and technical data, and facilitate the exchange of cars, information, and spare parts.

• support the classic and historic car movement through bodies such as the FBHVC.

DATA PROTECTION ACT

The Club is registered with the Information Commissions Office and shall comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

Members agree to be bound by the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Members will not use the Membership List or electronic database or their contents for any commercial purpose, nor allow it to be used for any commercial purpose; nor divulge all or any part of its contents to any non-member. Members will not use the Membership List for any bulk mailing except as allowed in rule 4.3 or by the express permission of the committee.

Officials and Officers of the Club with access to the Club’s electronic database may additionally use the Membership List for contacting members expressly for the purpose of conducting specific aspects of the Club’s affairs.

The Club may make members’ data available to the Bristol Owners Club Heritage Trust (BOC-HT), the Bristol Owners Club of Australia (BOCA) and the Bristol Register of New Zealand (BRONZ). Members may opt out should they not wish one or any of these organisations to have access to their personal data. The Club may make car data available to these organisations. The availability of this data shall not infringe a member’s right to withhold personal data from these organisations.

CONSTITUTION

The Club shall be directed and its business transacted by the Committee. The Committee shall comprise not more than 7 Officials. Members of the Club shall be eligible for election to the Committee at the Annual General Meeting. A quorum shall consist of 3 members of the Committee, one of whom must be either the Honorary General Secretary or the Honorary Treasurer.

The Committee shall appoint: the Chairman, the Honorary General Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, and the Honorary Membership Secretary of the Club from amongst their number.

The Committee may appoint Officers of the Club who may or may not be Officials of the Club, to assist in conducting specific aspects of the Club’s affairs. Where appropriate the Officers of the Club may in turn appoint assistants, whose appointment shall be ratified by the Committee.

The Committee may make Ex-Officio Appointments, who may include a President and Vice President of the Club. These appointments shall be subject to ratification at the next Annual General Meeting of the Club.

The Committee may, on agreement of a majority of the rest of the members of the Committee, remove any Committee member whose conduct is deemed to be inconsistent with the aims of the Club or they are considered by the Committee to be unfit to carry out their function efficiently.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership shall be available to persons resident in any part of the world, who are at present owners of Bristol or Bristol-engined cars and to all other persons interested in these cars.

Categories of paid-up membership shall be individual and family membership. A family membership shall cover 2 people permanently residing at the same address. Members in either category must be aged 17 or over to be eligible to vote at General Meetings of the Bristol Owners’ Club.

A copy of these Rules shall be sent to every applicant for membership. The submission to the Club of a signed Membership Application shall be deemed as acceptance of these Rules. A Membership Application for family membership signed by one or other of the qualifying residents, shall be deemed as acceptance of the rules by both residents.

Membership shall be renewable annually on 1 January of each year. Members who have not paid their subscriptions by 31 March shall be deemed to be no longer members of the Club. New members joining after 1 July in any year will be charged a subscription of one half of the annual subscription, and after 1 October, one quarter of the annual subscription.

An Entry Fee shall be payable on joining the Club and may be payable on re-joining at the discretion of the Committee.

The Entry Fee and Subscription may be changed only at an Annual General Meeting.

Honorary Members shall be elected by a show of hands at the Annual General Meeting. If a member is unhappy with the outcome, the member can demand a poll. Where a poll is demanded after a show of hands, the Committee will consider whether a poll should be conducted by postal voting rather than proxy voting. Honorary Membership does not confer voting rights.

ELECTION OF OFFICIALS OF THE CLUB

Officials of the Club shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting on a simple majority by a show of hands. If a member is unhappy with the outcome, the member can demand a poll. Where a poll is demanded after a show of hands, the Committee will consider whether a poll should be conducted by postal voting rather than proxy voting.

Nominations for new Officials of the Club must reach the Honorary General Secretary in writing 49 clear days before the Annual General Meeting.

The Committee may appoint any fully paid up member during the course of the year to serve as an “acting” Official of the Club. Such appointment must be subject to formal appointment at the next Annual General Meeting.

50% of the Officials of the Club (or the nearest whole number up) shall resign by rotation at the Annual General Meeting but may offer themselves for re-election.

DUTIES OF HONORARY GENERAL SECRETARY

The Honorary General Secretary shall take the Minutes of all meetings of the Club and its Committee and shall deal with the general correspondence. The records of the Club, including the Minutes of meetings shall be kept by them.

The Honorary Secretary shall send Minutes of all Committee Meetings of the Bristol Owners’ Club to all Officials and Officers.

DUTIES OF HONORARY MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

The Honorary Membership Secretary shall keep all membership records including details of members’ cars, collect subscriptions, produce and arrange circulation of the Membership List and on request, issue membership cards on an annual basis.

DUTIES OF HONORARY TREASURER

The Honorary Treasurer shall have charge of and maintain proper accounts of the Club’s funds which shall be deposited in the name of the “Bristol Owners’ Club” at a bank or banks determined by the Committee.

All accounts in the name of the Club shall be paid only after authorisation by the Committee. All cheques in payment of accounts shall be signed by the Honorary General Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer, or by the Chairman in lieu of either of the former.

A copy of the Annual Accounts of the Club, duly confirmed by a properly qualified accountant that proper books and records have been maintained and that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with those books and records, and approved by the Committee, shall be sent to each member with the Agenda of the Annual General Meeting. The Committee may appoint the properly qualified accountant to be known as the Examiner, but such appointment must be ratified at the following Annual General Meeting.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

An Annual General Meeting of the Bristol Owners’ Club shall be held once each calendar year and not more than 15 months shall elapse between any two such Meetings. Not less than 63 days notice of the meeting shall be given by the Honorary General Secretary, and not less than 28 days notice of the agenda for such meeting shall be given. The Honorary General Secretary must receive written applications for proposals and nominations at least 49 days before the proposed Meeting.

An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by the Honorary General Secretary, on receipt of written application signed by at least 12 fully paid up members. The Honorary General Secretary must receive the written application at least 49 days before the proposed Meeting and he/she in turn must give at least 28 days Notice of such Meeting.

The Honorary General Secretary shall circulate forms of proxy with the form of agenda of any Annual General Meeting of the Club, and with the form of Notice of any Extraordinary General Meeting. These forms of proxy shall be the only ones recognised by the Club.

The Honorary General Secretary shall circulate with the agreement of the Committee, all reasonable explanations of motions to the membership, whether or not the Committee supports the motions. The explanations shall be circulated with the AGM agenda and with the form of Notice of any Extraordinary General Meeting.

All motions laid before a General Meeting must have been circulated to the membership on a proxy form and on the form of agenda, 28 days prior to the meeting. All motions must be proposed and seconded at the meeting and be voted on by a show of hands. If a member is unhappy with the outcome, the member can demand a poll. Where a poll is demanded after a show of hands, the Committee will decide whether a poll should be conducted by postal voting rather than proxy voting.

A fully paid-up member not able to attend a General Meeting may appoint a proxy using the proxy form circulated with the agenda. The proxy shall be either the Chairman of that Meeting or a fully paid up member of the Club, eligible to vote at such Meeting under the provisions of rule 6.2. The form of proxy shall be lodged with the Honorary General Secretary 48hrs before the time fixed for the holding of the meeting or any adjournment thereof (as the case may be), to allow for validation and administration.

Should the Honorary General Secretary be unavailable for the General Meeting, another Committee Member may take over the duties.

ALTERATIONS and ADDITIONS to CLUB RULES

Alterations or additions to these Rules shall be made only at an Annual General Meeting. Notice of such alterations shall be submitted in writing to the Honorary General Secretary at least 49 days in advance of the Meeting and must be circulated with the Agenda of such Meeting. Any change shall require a two-thirds majority of those voting.

SUSPENSIONS OR EXPULSION

The Club shall have the power to expel any member whose conduct whether at Club events or elsewhere, is injurious to the good name of the Club or is such that in the opinion of the Committee it renders the person unfit to be a member. The power to expel a member shall be devolved to the Committee. The member shall have the right to be heard by a tribunal of Committee members; the right to have notice of the charges of misconduct; the right to be heard to answer those charges; and the right to be supported by a person of their choosing at any such hearing. The Committee must be quorate when considering the matter of expulsion and any decision shall require a two-thirds majority of the full Committee.

The Club shall have the power to suspend any member whose conduct whether at Club events or elsewhere, is considered to be in the opinion of the Committee conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Club and its members. The power to suspend a member shall be devolved to the Committee. The member shall have the right to be heard by a tribunal of Committee members; the right to have notice of the charges of misconduct; the right to be heard to answer those charges; and the right to be supported by a person of their choosing at any such hearing. The Committee must be quorate when considering the matter of suspension and any decision shall require a two-thirds majority of the full Committee.

Pending the hearing of any case of complaint deemed by the Committee injurious to the good name of the Club or is such that in the opinion of the Committee it renders the person unfit to be a member, the Committee shall have the power to exclude the member from Committee organised or sponsored events.

Pending the hearing of any case of complaint deemed by the Committee conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Club and its members, the member shall retain the privileges of membership.

A suspended member loses all privileges and rights of membership for the period of suspension and is prohibited from nomination or election as an Official or Officer of the Club. If the suspended member is an Official or an Officer of the Club, he/she must stand down.

DISSOLUTION

The Club may be dissolved at a General Meeting at which at least 25% of the membership has voted with a two-thirds majority in favour. Upon dissolution the Committee will forthwith liquidate the affairs of the Club, and if there be any surplus assets on realization, these shall be disposed of at the discretion of the Committee.